The Sacred Continuum of Magh Mela in Prayag
Tulsidas and the Timeless Spiritual Power of Prayag
From Lord Ram to Rishi Bharadwaj: The Mythic Foundations of Prayag
Emperor Harshvardhan, Kumbh Mela, and the Spirit of Renunciation
Prayag as a Cradle of Learning, Poetry, and Intellectual Tradition
As Magh Mela unfolds in Prayag, a lifelong resident reflects on its spiritual glory, history, poetry, and personal loss through memory and tradition.
By Justice Markandey Katju
Out of my 80 years, 58 were spent in Prayag, and much of what I am today is a gift of Prayag.
About its greatness, the great poet Tulsidas wrote in the Ramcharitmanas :
को कहि सकई प्रयाग प्रà¤ाउ
कलुष पुंज कुंजर मृगराऊ
i.e.
''Who can tell the greatness of Prayag ?
It destroys all sins, just as a lion kills an elephant ''
This is the place where Lord Ram first came after his exile from Ayodhya, and met Rishi Bharadwaj in his ashram on the bank of the Sangam.
This is the place where Emperor Harshvardhan held the first Kumbh Mela, honoured the great Chinese pilgrim Huein Tsang and other saints and scholars, and donated all his wealth to them and the poor, thereafter borrowing a piece of cloth from his sister Rajyashree to cover his naked body.
This was the place where I sat humbly at the feet of great scholars and poets of Allahabad, and picked up much of the knowledge I possess today.
This is the place about which the great Urdu poet Munawwar Rana wrote in his famous long poem 'Muhajirnama' :
''Gale milti hui nadiyaan, gale milte hue mausam
Allahabad ka kaisa nazaara chhod aaye hain?
Kal ek amrood waale se kehna pad gaya mujhko
Jahaan se aaye hain is phal ki bagiya chhod aaye hain
Kuch der tak woh takta raha mujhe phir bola
Woh sangam ka ilaaqa chhoota, ya chhod aaye hain? ''
I am like that Muhajir of Pakistan, exiled in Delhi, far away from my hometown, and sad.
If I forget you, O Prayag, may my right hand perish
(Justice Markandey Katju is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and former Chairman of the Press Council of India. The views expressed are his own.)
